TWO drivers who high-speed racing caused the death of a much-loved mum-of-two have been jailed for a total of more than 15 years.
Tom Hill, 32, and Lyndon Parsons, 26, were speeding at up to twice the legal limit in their hatchbacks when Hill lost control of his 'souped up' Ford Fiesta ST and hit an oncoming car driven by mother of two Terri-Ann Marshall, Gloucester Crown Court was told. Ms Marshall suffered devastating injuries and was declared dead at the scene of the crash on the B4228 at Sling. Parsons, of Smithville Close, St Briavels and Hill, of Walford Avenue, Ross both pleaded guilty to causing Ms Marshall's death by dangerous driving on January 28 2022. A third defendant, Lucy Alexander, 23, of Carbonne Close, Monmouth, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice by giving Parsons a false alibi – claiming she was with him at the time and that he was not involved in the collision.
Parsons admitted the same charge of giving a false account of his whereabouts to investigating officer PC Thomas Jones. The Recorder of Gloucester, Judge Ian Lawrie KC, told the two men: “The tragic and untimely death of Ms Marshall was a consequence of the actions of both of you. Following the fatal collision Parsons indulged in a series of lies to try to sidestep his involvement. The police were able to see through this.
The Recorder of Gloucester, Judge Ian Lawrie KC, told the two men: “The tragic and untimely death of Ms Marshall was a consequence of the actions of both of you. Following the fatal collision Parsons indulged in a series of lies to try to sidestep his involvement. The police were able to see through this.
“Both of you chose to show an utter disregard to the rules of the road. You were both driving at high speeds on a road that Hill was unfamiliar with. This explains why you, Hill, struggled to keep up with Parsons. “This collision was caused by your dangerous and thoughtless driving over a two-mile stretch of the B4228. Sadly on this day, you both took leave of your senses, despite being experienced drivers with clean driving licences. “You both chose to drive in this fashion, not having a care to the risk to others. You both have a keen interest in cars and should have been aware of the dangers. “What you indulged in was racing on the public highway and you were showing off to each other. I have no doubt that this provided a level of excitement for Parsons as he tried to outrun Hill by driving dangerously and this in turn encouraged Hill to do the same. “Despite your ages, both of you were behaving like adolescent males." Prosecutor Mark Worsley told the court that Parsons and Hill had first met four days before the crash when they were both helping a woman to resolve her car issues. “Following this first meeting, Parsons went to the vape shop where Hill worked on January 28 2022 and exchanged stories with him about various high performance vehicles," said Mr Worsley.
“This concluded after two hours with Parsons saying he would show him one of his other cars at his home in St Briavels. “As they drove from Coleford, Parsons kept on increasing his speed as they headed towards to St Briavels and it appeared that they were racing on the B4228 near Sling. They were about three seconds apart from each other. “Parsons was driving a silver VW Golf GTi and Hill was at the wheel of a blue Ford Fiesta ST, which had been souped up. “Shortly before 5.10pm, when the vehicles were close to the Orepool Inn the second vehicle, driven by Hill, went out of control and became airborne whilst driving over the brow of a hill.
As Hill regained control of the vehicle and corrected the steering he collided with a Mini being driven by Ms Marshall from the opposite direction." Judge Lawrie interjected: “Hill effectively took off, leaving the road surface as he did. Ms Marshall literally had no time to react.” Mr Worsley continued: “Both vehicles spun clockwise around each other, with the Fiesta completing 540 degrees in total. Both vehicles suffered enormous front-end damage. Ms Marshal suffered fatal injuries and was declared dead at the scene by paramedics." The court was told that at 5.11pm Hill texted the woman telling her he had been involved in an accident and had smashed up his car.
She wasn’t unduly concerned when the call failed. However, at 6pm she contacted Alexander and asked if all was well? She was told that Hill was still at the scene of an accident where a woman had died. “Hill had to be cut out of his vehicle by the fire and rescue service and taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol by ambulance. He sustained an injury to his back." The court was told that a forensic examination of Hill’s Fiesta and Ms Marshall’s Mini found no defects in either vehicle. However, Parsons’ VW Golf GTi had recently failed its MOT. The packed courtroom, which included 21 members of the victim’s family, heard that the speed of the two vehicles between four points along the road – which had a 50mph speed limit – varied between 57mph and 100mph. The control modules, which record the final few seconds before a collision, were removed from both vehicles. Hill's car was recorded driving at 81mph to 90mph and, at the point of collision, just over 70mph. The recorded speed of Ms Marshall's Mini was 48mph. The morning after the tragic crash police received information that the two men had been racing and both were arrested – Hill while he was still in hospital. Parsons, when he was interviewed, told the police he had heard the of incident and believed that a driver had crashed into a bus which he had passed moments before.
He claimed that he had turned round and driven back and saw that the Fiesta had collided with a Mini. He said he was driving a Seat car, with Alexander as his passenger, after leaving his shop in Coleford. “This was a fabrication,” said Mr Worsley. “Parsons told the police that Hill was following him to his home address in St Briavels to look at his car. He denied racing. He added that he had a number of vehicles, including a VW Golf which wasn’t road legal. “Parsons was warned that CCTV had been made available which showed the presence of a silver VW Golf. Parsons then admitted driving the Golf and said he had lied because he knew it didn’t have an MOT. “Parsons went on to say that after the collision he drove off and made his way to Bream to pick up Alexander, where she lived at the time, and returned in her car to the scene of the collision. He denied that he had been driving dangerously. “At a later interview Parsons admitted lying to the police officer at the scene of the collision. It was a spur of the moment decision, he said, and had not been pre-planned. He denied driving at speeds in excess of 90mph or racing.” Alexander told the police she was travelling from Coleford to St Briavels in the company of Parsons after she had picked him up from his shop in the town, and having driven through Sling they heard an almighty bang behind her and saw a blue Fiesta spinning out of control across the road. She later explained that what she had stated was only partially true, but admitted travelling from Bream after Parsons had appeared at her home address and they returned to the collision site in her car. Mr Worsley concluded that it was the Crown’s case that both cars were racing and were indulging in a high speed pursuit over the two mile distance. Both men were driving high powered vehicles of which the Ford Fiesta had been modified in a number of ways to increase its performance. “In other words it was a souped up vehicle,” he said. “Parsons left the scene to avoid getting into trouble on a number of counts, namely racing and having no MOT or insurance. When he did return to the collision scene he and Alexander lied to police officers about the exact circumstances and gave false statements. “Both men are responsible for Ms Marshall’s death.” Robin Shellard, for Hill, said his client had undergone a number of operations on his back but had nevertheless attended court in person as he didn’t want to dishonour the court or the deceased. He felt it was important to be present to face up to the consequences of his actions, he said. “Hill has good days and bad days having had operations for his back pain involving pinning, bolts and bone grafts and is currently being medicated with Fentanyl, which is far more potent than any other drug," Mr Shellard said. At a previous hearing last summer the court was told Hill had to appear on a video link from home because he was still not fit to attend court and was effectively bed-bound. He claimed that his injuries had rendered him virtually immobile. However, the court was told, just two days later, on July 14 2023, he was given a lift to Birmingham airport to travel to Northern Ireland and was caught on CCTV carrying a rucksack and walking unaided. The CCTV footage of Hill navigating his way around the airport was played to the court. Today, his barrister told the court "He was drugged up when he flew to Northern Ireland to see a woman he had met online. He never intended to mislead anybody." Mr Shellard continued: “Any sentence passed for this offence cannot begin to address the great loss suffered by Ms Marshall’s family. Nobody can understand what they have gone through. The effects on Hill pales into insignificance compared to that felt by her family. “The value of Terri-Ann’s life should not be gauged by any sentence passed. My mitigation should not be viewed as an excuse, but an explanation. “The term ‘boy racer’ has been used, which may have a resonance with the media. Both defendants were not teenage boys. Hill is a hard-working adult who has a blameless past. Boy racers are the type who do this sort of thing all the time, drive dangerously while uninsured and their recklessness almost becomes part of their being. “There is no evidence that Hill had been racing like this previously. He hasn’t even had a speeding ticket. The decision to drive at speed was his alone. He was not racing, he was following Parsons in pursuit and was drawn into this. “Hill was driving a vehicle that was his pride and joy. It was capable of being driven at speed. For the rest of his life he has to live with the fact that he killed somebody. While he is in custody he will have to reflect on what he has done.” Conrad Gadd, for Parsons, said: “The position he takes is that he set off at a pace having spent two hours exchanging stories about cars and high performance vehicles with Hill at his shop in Coleford. “Hill showed an interest in following Parsons to his home address to see a vehicle that he was selling. He felt that this was an opportunity to show Hill what his car could do. "‘Let me see if he can keep up with me’ were his thoughts at the time. This was his explanation to me. He is candid enough to accept that he was to blame. “Parsons regrets what he did now. He said this was a fundamental huge misjudgement, inconsiderate, selfish and stupid. But at the time these things didn’t occur to him. He is remorseful. “Parsons pleaded guilty and realises he was cowardly in not telling the truth in the first place. His concern at the time was to avoid being prosecuted for not having an MOT. Kate Roxburgh, for Alexander, said: “She is very remorseful. She became involved only because of her relationship with her then partner and went along with what he told her to say to the police. “Perverting the course of justice was not something she had planned. It was carried out in the context of the moment. It was a major error of judgement on her part. It is very obvious that she was acting under direction. She herself was a victim of deceit. “I submit that any custodial sentence imposed could be suspended because imprisonment would affect others in her family. Her mother is seriously unwell as she is undergoing cancer treatment and she is looking after her siblings. This is on top of her working full time. “She has spent one night in custody, having been remanded overnight. She found the experience very frightening. It’s not a place she wants to return to." Judge Lawrie sentenced Hill to a prison term of seven and a half years and Parsons to eight years. They were both banned from driving for five years from the day they are released from prison and were ordered to take an extended driving test to regain their licences in future. The judge told them: “We’ve all heard the statements provided by Ms Marshall’s family in which each family member setting out powerful words of losing a daughter, partner, sister, niece or mother. You should reflect on these while you remain in custody." In sentencing Alexander to a nine month prison term, suspended for two years Judge Lawrie told her: "You foolishly got involved through your partner when you were not in the knowledge of the full facts. "What you did was a very stupid thing to have done. This offence crosses the custody threshold. I acknowledge that your are working full time and have the additional responsibilities of looking after your mother and your siblings." The judge ordered that Alexander undertakes 200 hours of unpaid work and pay a contribution towards court costs of £500. He also ordered the deprivation of Parsons’ VW Golf. Judge Lawrie then turned to the many members of Ms Marshall's family in the court and explained that he couldn't sentence Hill and Parsons to the length of sentence they might have been hoping for as he is was restricted by guidelines. In a tribute to Ms Marshall the court heard a number of statements from family members which said that Terri-Ann was ‘larger than life’ and a devoted mum to her two daughters. Her partner Tom Osborne said: “When I left the house that morning I kissed Terri-Ann goodbye. If I knew what I know now, I would have held her tightly and would not have let her out of my sight. “We spent so much time together over the previous five years. I knew she was due to be working that night so I said I would prepare dinner for us. But when she hadn’t arrived at home, I rang her, but got no answer. This was out of character for her. I went looking for her. “I drove to her mother’s place, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t at her place of work. As I was driving towards Bream, two police cars overtook me. My stomach churned when I arrived at the scene of the accident. I didn’t see her car and didn’t know what was happening.” The court heard that when Mr Osborne was told what had happened his 'world had come crashing down, having lost his beloved partner and his best friend.' He concluded: “Our lives have been destroyed and Terri-Ann’s family has been torn apart. All I feel is anger. Every day is torture because both defendants are still alive and Terri-Ann is no longer with us.” Helen Dawson, mother of Terri-Ann said: “In the days before she died, she was the happiest she had been in a long time. She was working in the care industry and had a loving relationship with her fiancé Will – and she was driving a car of her dreams. “When two police officers knocked on my door on January 28 2022, I immediately knew something was wrong. They informed me that my daughter had died in a road traffic accident. “This was the moment our lives changed for ever. Six weeks after the accident the father of one of Terri-Ann’s daughters also died. “We miss her so much. Terri-Ann was the life and soul of any event. No parent should have to endure such a tragedy. Our lives will never be the same again.” Katie Dawson, sister of Terri-Ann said: “This has torn the lives of her daughters apart. They are now separated with one of them living with grandparents while the other lives with her father.”